Finnish customs authorities have launched a criminal investigation into vintage cars that belonged to former presidents, that may have been smuggled out of the country illegally.
The investigation centres around President Kyösti Kallio’s 1938 Buick Special Eight, and President JK Paasikivi’s 1952 Cadillac and 1946 Lincoln.
According to Aamulehti newspaper, authorities say they were sold to Italy in 2012, but needed special permission from the National Board of Antiquities because they were more than 50 years old.
At the time they were sold to Italy, the cars were owned by a foundation that said it didn’t know permission was required before selling the cars overseas.
The cars won’t be coming back to Finland any time soon, however. Officials say that if the correct export licenses had been requested at the time, they would probably have been issued.
